The Act of Killing
2012
Documentary
1h 57m
In this chilling and inventive documentary, the unrepentant former members of Indonesian death squads are challenged to re-enact some of their many murders in the style of the American movies they love. (tiff.net)
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The Act of Killing
2012
Documentary
1h 57m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 75.24% from 1725 total ratings
Ratings & Reviews
(1725)
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Rated 17 Oct 2013
91
98th
Ironically, watching this documentary made me want to kill all the main interviewees. Seeing these people be so open and proud about the atrocities they committed, joking about mass murder and discussing killing techniques as if they were dinner recipes... if I had any Gamma radiation in my system, I would've Hulked out. Instead, I just felt disgusted, disturbed, uncomfortable and finally exhausted. Required viewing if you believe humans are The Worst Species In The Universe.
Rated 17 Oct 2013
Rated 30 Jun 2013
82
95th
I've never seen a documentary that could portrait such a balance between totally absurd humor and pure horror.
Rated 30 Jun 2013
Rated 26 May 2013
95
96th
A character arch unlike any I've seen. A documentary less about the human potential for cruelty and evil, and more about the birth of the soul. In heaves horrifying, moving, infuriating, devastating, beautiful, and all at once profound. A masterpiece of narrative documentary filmmaking. Superb.
Rated 26 May 2013
Rated 24 Jan 2016
89
93rd
A lurid and haunting look at the darkness within humanity, and the near-endless ability of the human mind to rationalize its actions. Near the end we begin to see cracks form in the mental defenses of one of the perpetrators, and it is gut-wrenchingly powerful. Cinema holding a mirror up to the soul.
Rated 24 Jan 2016
Rated 29 Jan 2014
95
97th
An absolute stroke of genius. Not only within it's genre but on all thinkable levels. Oppenheimer presents the atrocities in a way that transcends the documentary genre and creates some of the most interesting and uncomfortable scenes in moviemaking history. Never judging, never biased
he approaches the killers with an open mind and gains acces to their side of the story in an utterly remarkable way resulting in a film at times absurd, at times hilarious but always disturbing and horrifying.
Rated 29 Jan 2014
Rated 08 Nov 2013
94
84th
At first it beggared belief that these men could be so candid about their personal corruption. But as it slowly dawned on me that this seemingly blithe openness was really a method of obfuscating the actual torment contained within, I came to see the characters as real once more.
Rated 08 Nov 2013
Rated 14 Sep 2013
93
93rd
Assigning this film a score seems almost irrelevant, as it's merits as a moral and humanitarian document eclipse any subjective "cinematic" achievements (which is not to say it lacks those either by any means). Which is also not to say that it's some grandstanding, self-righteously moralizing "Humanitarian" work either. Not only does it draw attention to historical atrocities, but it forces us to consider the moral responsibilities of cinematic images themselves.
Rated 14 Sep 2013
Rated 08 Apr 2014
70
81st
Uniquely explores individual and socio-political consequences of massive 1965 Indonesian slaughters of mostly landless peasants, ethnic Chinese and Communists, with perpetrators still connected to real power, social organisation and ideology. I was in a '90s project with young Indonesians to recover this history to think their contemporary realities; may be the best broadly available portrait. But see Martha Stroud's 2015 PhD, 'Ripples, Echoes, and Reverberations: 1965 and Now in Indonesia'.
Rated 08 Apr 2014
Rated 31 Oct 2012
60
42nd
I wasn't as overwhelmed as the reviews had prepared me to be. Clearly, the movie deals with something truly extraordinary and worthy of a film - watch it because of that. But once the premise is established, I think the movies circles too much around the same things. Until the last 15 minutes, the movie in large durations lacks storyline progress, or simply put: drive. Being as interesting as it is, it's a shame.
Rated 31 Oct 2012
Rated 15 Feb 2014
90
94th
I was expecting recent history to be revealed but it ended up being a lot more than that. The horror and indecency of the 60s pogroms and current simmering fascism seem to be as disturbing to some of the perpetrators as they are to people watching this movie but you can only see the full weight of their crimes lurking in their minds and bubbling up from time to time
Rated 15 Feb 2014
Rated 17 May 2014
90
93rd
This documentary somehow manages to capture the level of absurdity that befits the travesty the perpetrators are trying to re-enact. It's funny, it's tragic, it's disgusting, it's horrible. But it's never short of essential viewing. And if we are to take anything positive from this movie, it appears to me, that even though we have the capability of killing each other, we clearly aren't meant to.
Rated 17 May 2014
Rated 12 Aug 2013
90
92nd
The Act of Killing is a horrific, perception-shattering work of nonfiction that abrasively shocks its audience into contemplating the psychological context of committing grand-scale human atrocity. The irony is that it is not the grim details of genocide in Indonesia in the 1960s that disturb the viewer, but the pervasive, playful sense of complacency with these murderous acts that the same society harbors fifty years later.
Rated 12 Aug 2013
Rated 22 Jan 2015
85
85th
(Dir. Cut) In the few days since I have seen this film, I have found that it's impossible to describe what, exactly, it is that I saw. As I begin to describe it, it feels like some nightmarish waking dream that barely makes any sense. As I watched it with my GF, I kept saying out loud, "I don't understand how these people can rationalize their atrocities!" I assume this is something that everyone says while watching, but even in the end, I still had no answer. There is none.
Rated 22 Jan 2015
Rated 23 Nov 2016
92
98th
Be Kind Rewind's sadder cousin.
Rated 23 Nov 2016
Rated 12 Feb 2014
95
91st
(Dir. Cut) I've never been so gripped and shook by a documentary before. Not only a commentary on the human condition and its fascinated relationship with killing but on the world we live in which so freely throws it in our face, and the consequences of its undeniably wide appeal. My feelings when I watched this can hardly be put to words. Essential viewing (whether you like it or not is of no consequence).
Rated 12 Feb 2014
Rated 13 Dec 2013
63
60th
Somewhat similar but inferior to Rithy Panh's docus about Cambodia, but doesn't feature survivors, relies much more heavily (and excessively) on reenactments, tries unsuccessfully to give more political context, and is less illuminating. The most powerful moments occur when the subjects just give raw testimonies and when they are confronted and pressed, but I would have edited out the more indulgent aesthetic exercises and the overemphasis on the "gangsters'" influence by American movies.
Rated 13 Dec 2013
Rated 14 Jan 2014
65
71st
Hard to score. Syberberg explored the idea that Hitler saw the Third Reich as a gigantic real-life movie, of which he would be director and star. Here, Oppenheimer hands the camera over to murderous paramilitaries and gangsters and allows them free rein to play dress-ups and Cowboys-and-Indians and make a movie. Some remarkable sequences that raise some very interesting and important questions only partly assuage this viewer's doubt about the moral and political defensibility of the enterprise.
Rated 14 Jan 2014
Rated 08 Jan 2016
100
97th
In which cinema takes a long, hard look at itself and does not like what it sees.
Rated 08 Jan 2016
Rated 15 Jan 2014
91
91st
This chilling portrait of human depravity never turns its gaze away, and allows no room to slide out from under the devastating reality of what humans can do to each other. At one point, a television technician surmises that all the killing has made Mr. Congo "crazy." But she couldn't be further from the truth. The film testifies to the hard reality that these men are completely lucid and functional in society, even as they harbor sick and twisted views of themselves and others.
Rated 15 Jan 2014
Rated 26 Jul 2013
9
91st
This is a totally unique film. Never before have I been so sickened and entertained at the same time.
Rated 26 Jul 2013
Rated 23 Feb 2014
4
90th
A slow and a bit messy start, but haunting and absolutely fantastic finish. The last 40 minutes or so was incomparable! - Very Good
Rated 23 Feb 2014
Rated 29 Apr 2013
8
92nd
This probably would have benefited from being a bit shorter, but it's worth to watch it for a number of scenes, especially the ending.
Rated 29 Apr 2013
Rated 04 Dec 2013
95
99th
I saw a review of this film that described the viewing experience as bathing in a nightmare, and that sounds perfect to me. This is a very difficult film to watch because it doesn't just depict or describe inhuman and vile acts, but rather immerses you fully into some remarkably surreal and unpleasant fantasies, a poisoned culture (the killings are proudly remembered!) and the minds and souls of the perpetrators. And it's a fucking documentary. Terrifying, unique and utterly essential.
Rated 04 Dec 2013
Rated 15 Jan 2014
4
70th
At first, what's most horrific is the impunity with which the primaries admit to performing genocide. But Anwar Congo's gradual realization and recognition of his sins begins to weigh on him, and what started as a look into the cognitive dissonance of horrific violence slowly morphs into an act of penitence - one far too little and too late to atone for the atrocities in question, of course.
Rated 15 Jan 2014
Rated 27 Jan 2014
100
99th
The most terrifying theme of the film for me is the catastrophic power it holds on our presumptions of modernity. We like to think we are an enlightened bunch, elevated by intellect and haughty through practice and restraint. Yet, the 20th century, of which this film is but a taste, is the bloodiest on (and of) human record. It's a cold reminder that Commies here may in another context be Sunni, Armenian, Ukranian, Bengali, Bosnian, women, gay, Christian, or simply poor. How fucking progressive.
Rated 27 Jan 2014
Rated 02 Aug 2013
92
95th
one of the most powerful documentaries I've seen
Rated 02 Aug 2013
Rated 19 Jan 2016
75
89th
Is it odd that I find this to be a really great film, yet at the same time was not too disturbed or bothered by what was appearing on screen? The people we see are walking contradictions but the same can surely be said for most men. The most heinous parts of the film were the constant reminders that Indonesia is still being run by these people, and that even though one might have changed, changing a nation is much more difficult. What a well-paced film. Love the shift in the final third.
Rated 19 Jan 2016
Rated 19 Mar 2014
84
89th
About as dark as cinema verite can get. The cold-hearted bastards depicted in this film even think it goes too far.
Rated 19 Mar 2014
Rated 31 Dec 2013
85
80th
I loved the premise but I didn't know what to really expect. What I got was a disgusting documentary that is incredibly hard to watch, a film that makes you incredibly angry at these people and how they seemingly bath in the glory of their pasts. There are moments of enlightenment, but for them its too little too late. Maybe too powerful for its own good, as it's the type of film that will alienate people. I don't know if I enjoyed it so much as I was just impacted by it. Chilling documentary.
Rated 31 Dec 2013
Rated 24 May 2015
88
96th
You can understand why is so interesting simply reading Wiki. Only the confessions of these "gangsters" - like they call theirself - are extraordinary: different people that cohabit with their common past in different ways. But is extraordinary also to what these depositions lead to: to doubt about goodness of the humanity free will; and to medidations about how powerful can be the cinema: Anwar find truth and chatarsis (only) in it; but in the dark past he found also ispiration for his crimes.
Rated 24 May 2015
Rated 11 Oct 2013
89
98th
I recommended this movie to Wesley Snipes on twitter and then he liked my tweet. I hope Blade enjoys one of the most horrifying and disturbing films ever.
Rated 11 Oct 2013
Rated 13 Jul 2016
94
92nd
brutally powerful. skinning alive the notion of harmless romanticizing, or that living the unexamined life is very far from getting away with murder. this film takes its toll with deafening sobriety.
Rated 13 Jul 2016
Rated 06 Mar 2016
100
95th
A Chilling documentary on the depths of peoples depravity and indifference towards one another in a time of crisis and turmoil. The fact that most of those who carried out the mass killings showed little or no remorse,guilt or apprehension over what they did was surreal. The film really hits at how people rationalize,compartmentalize and justify horrific deeds done in service of the nation.
The Act of Killing should be required viewing for all old enough to handle the subject matter.
Rated 06 Mar 2016
Rated 08 Aug 2013
9
94th
it is striking how these fuckers are so open about their killings and unbearably disgusting how proud they are. this doc will ask for real nerves from you. i wish it was a stupid mockumentary.
Rated 08 Aug 2013
Rated 01 Mar 2014
90
88th
Remove the wool from over your eyes - this is a relentless scope into the psychological "nerve damage" of perpetrators behind the anti-communist Indonesian purge of the mid-60's. Oppenheimer urges the question: how deep does the process need to be for a human to recover from so much first-hand abomination? The doc explores the dark misguided side to humanity but reminds us that these heinous acts of mass murder were committed by ACTUAL people, some of who we intimately begin to know. Essential.
Rated 01 Mar 2014
Rated 08 May 2015
88
91st
Requires paying attention and sometimes taking a step back to realize and appreciate how non-surreal and insane the stuff on display is. Deep down they seem to doubt their own deluded justification, something that (un)fortunately leads some to double down on it and be even more open about it, as if it were a defense in-itself, at least for them. This venture to protect their ego's requires exposure of that deluded persona, even if this it grates with what they know we will see them as.
Rated 08 May 2015
Rated 15 Jan 2014
95
96th
I almost felt bad for a monster.
Rated 15 Jan 2014
Rated 17 Jan 2014
95
97th
Fascinating, disturbing, and ultimately quite powerful look at a group of "gangsters" from Indonesia that tortured, killed, and raped people due to them being considered Communists. It's hard to describe what you will watch, it won't feel like reality in a lot of ways.
Rated 17 Jan 2014
Rated 05 Aug 2013
90
95th
There are no words to describe this. If you want to learn about human nature, this is as close as you can get. I am still wondering if what I saw was all real or just one big elaborate joke. The hand of Herzog in this production is very obvious, I wonder what the result would have been if he would have been behind the camera himself. Don't forget to look at the end-credits, they are a revelation onto themselves.
Rated 05 Aug 2013
Rated 06 Oct 2014
9
90th
The kind of movie that makes me want to leave everything behind, buy a house in the countryside, live reclusively with my beloved Border Collie and become a shepherd.
Rated 06 Oct 2014
Rated 23 Jan 2015
79
61st
Uggh, I haven't seen such reprehensible villains in a film in quite some time, and these guys and their actions were real! Quite the stark, deep look into the abyss, Oppenheimer remains somewhat on the villain's side, letting them present the story of what happened, which makes them realise "maybe killing is ... not a nice thing to do?" An original idea for a documentary that's been executed (a-ha!) as well as it could've done, but I would've liked some more oddball surreal moments.
Rated 23 Jan 2015
Rated 27 Jun 2016
100
94th
Brilliantly shot (love the color and mise-en-scene) and a brilliant idea to foreground the idea of history as narrative, to put the focus on the stories that these murderers need to tell themselves to keep their minds (or not).
Rated 27 Jun 2016
Rated 14 Aug 2017
70
65th
Brilliant in several ways, but I much prefer 'The Look of Silence'.
Rated 14 Aug 2017
Rated 22 Jun 2013
95
95th
23 Subat 2013, bade ile ifistanbul & wtf?!
Rated 22 Jun 2013
Rated 10 Dec 2013
30
19th
Considering the source material, this is extremely underwhelming. The two hour and forty minute run-time overstays its welcome; after the first half hour I started to zone out. Errol Morris was a producer of this, and the whole time I could keep thinking how vastly it could have been improved had he directed. Doubt I'll watch much of Oppenheimer again.
Rated 10 Dec 2013
Rated 31 Jul 2013
80
90th
Never knew documentaries could be so surreal.
Rated 31 Jul 2013
Rated 19 Aug 2013
83
62nd
Anwar Conggo, one of the perpetrators of the Indonesian anti-Communist massacres of the 60s, is given the chance to re-enact his killings in the styles of various film genres--a process with unforeseen consequences for himself. When it focuses on Conggo and his films, it's startling, colorful, and in the end, haunting. But too much of it focuses on modern Indonesia's cavalier attitude to the killings, and the hazy construction doesn't help. There are still enough privileged moments to behold.
Rated 19 Aug 2013
Rated 05 Jan 2014
95
97th
This look into the fiber of human nature and morality is incomparable to any non-fiction piece I've seen before. I feel kind of shellshocked after watching this. That's the way a documentary should make you feel.
Rated 05 Jan 2014
Rated 10 Sep 2013
7
94th
....a hallucinatory splurge of anxious, disconcerting images bubbling from the cracks separating fiction and reality. more here: http://themissingslate.com/2013/09/06/private-theatre-the-act-of-killing/
Rated 10 Sep 2013
Rated 29 May 2016
90
89th
What the fuck, Indonesia?
Rated 29 May 2016
Rated 28 Mar 2014
100
99th
They should show this in school, everywhere.
Rated 28 Mar 2014
Rated 05 Dec 2019
93
93rd
Probably Michael Haneke's favorite documentary. It says everything he tried to say with Funny Games but with the grisly details of real world psychology and one nation's violent delusion. This film is about the distance used to manipulate our moral perception of reality. This relates to not only the subjects being filmed, but the filmmaker himself. He respects his subjects' perception until, finally, he is asked to share his own. The last fifteen minutes of this film are unforgettably powerful.
Rated 05 Dec 2019
Rated 30 Dec 2019
90
93rd
One of the most horrifying and disturbing documentaries I’ve ever seen, and a relentless look into the human soul in a myriad of unexpected ways.
Rated 30 Dec 2019
Rated 26 Jan 2014
50
16th
This film was incredibly interesting. Very rarely do you get such a window into the thought processes of such monsters. Their own tortured senses of guilt are simply mind blowing. That said, this may be the most disturbing film I've ever seen because of how exploitative it was. The "re-enactments" created genuine terror for many of those "playing" victims. It's difficult to recommend or even praise this film because of this real exploitation. My score here is a reflection of this tension.
Rated 26 Jan 2014
Rated 05 Apr 2014
68
20th
It's unique and intriguing, and the interviews demonstrating the brazenness of impunity are worth watching the film for. But the reenactments are disrespectful and without value and make the film feel exploitative.
Rated 05 Apr 2014
Rated 15 Dec 2013
80
64th
E eu com medo dos reacinhas brasileiros... O filme é excessivamente longo, poderia ter sido cortado 40 minutos dele, mesmo sendo realmente difícil deixar de fora momentos que fazem todo o sentido como um tôdo dentro do contexto absurdo que são inseridos. A verdade o que faz esse filme ser tão chocante para nós, ocidentais "democráticos", é meramente uma cultura distinta, nós não somos tão democráticos quanto pensamos ser, o que faz da sociedade indonésia um tanto menos hipócrita do que a nossa.
Rated 15 Dec 2013
Rated 15 May 2015
90
94th
People man people
Rated 15 May 2015
Rated 05 Oct 2013
91
93rd
You can see the logical progression from hearing about these guys who emulated Hollywood characters (one rarely seen not donning a form of spectacular drag) during their widespread political cleansing, to finding the remaining leaders from the movement & putting it to them to act out a few memories from the era. A surreal but unique concept & to follow through with it, with willing players is some achievement. Ties itself up nicely, as if to script? A kitsch finale to any other documentary.
Rated 05 Oct 2013
Rated 22 Nov 2014
60
6th
Interesting, but I eventually stopped watching because the "stars" were simply disgusting and I didn't like contributing to their 15 minutes of fame.
Rated 22 Nov 2014
Rated 23 Aug 2013
65
65th
Has enough genuinely haunting and revealing moments to not be considered a great documentary. Unfortunately, Oppenheimer's film may alienate most of its audience with its long, repetitive midsection. While certain points about the Indonesian government are enlightening and equally horrifying, it detracts from the key story, which is Anwar Congo's personal journey and the subsequent revelations of the men around him.
Rated 23 Aug 2013
Rated 20 Feb 2014
95
97th
A film that allows those responsible for killing thousands of "communists" to recreate their acts and boast about the killings? This should not exist, but it does. These people are monsters and the atrocities they committed are unbelievable; they laugh about raping and murdering people and are so open and proud of what they did that it must be a farce (it's not). At best I felt uncomfortable and horrified, at worst I was despondent.
Rated 20 Feb 2014
Rated 28 Aug 2017
0
0th
I don't enjoy movies that infuriate and disgust me.
Rated 28 Aug 2017
Rated 03 Aug 2013
25
82nd
I like Anwar's lime green shirt/white pants combo which can be accessorized with a improvised garrote as you dance the cha-cha-cha.
Rated 03 Aug 2013
Rated 04 Feb 2014
91
97th
Shame on me for thinking I had seen it all because calling The Act of Killing a documentary is shorting it about 1000 other words that are needed to fully describe what I just saw. I'm not sure what kind of movie the two executioners thought they were making, but the jumble of scenes that are shown to us are completely engrossing and disturbing. The two give a chilling charisma- as we might expect Stalin or Hitler to appear on film. One of 2013's best.
Rated 04 Feb 2014
Rated 22 Jan 2014
85
89th
Fucking mental.
Rated 22 Jan 2014
Rated 03 Nov 2013
85
68th
The Act of Killing (B) A documentary about genocide in Indonesia. The filmmaker convinced the gangsters who killed thousands of people in the 1960s to re-enact the murders they committed for a movie and documented the whole ordeal. The irony seems completely lost on these men as they celebrate and laugh about the horrible acts they took part in. A difficult film to watch at 2 hours and 40 minutes in length and so many horrible stories being told and re-enacted, but also riveting and surreal.
Rated 03 Nov 2013
Rated 15 Apr 2015
50
9th
One doesn't pull off political mass murder with impunity without having a certain preternatural skill for manipulating the media, whether journalists or documentarians.
Rated 15 Apr 2015
Rated 05 Aug 2013
82
91st
It dragged on for a little too long, but the content and ending more than made up for it. An extremely interesting documentary and a story told from a unique perspective.
Rated 05 Aug 2013
Rated 10 Feb 2014
7
92nd
both extremely interesting in the historical details and disturbing in how these guys think about their actions. some of the playacting scenes are very impressive, though perhaps the surreality of the thing is oversold. the scene with the old guy gagging at the end is horrifying.
Rated 10 Feb 2014
Rated 31 Jul 2014
62
35th
The matter itself is really something to be amazed with, movie on the other hand, was outstretched and lacked coherence.
Rated 31 Jul 2014
Rated 07 Apr 2016
89
77th
...Zwischen Faszination und Entsetzen schwanken wir dabei, denn hier werden keine Monster vorgeführt, sondern Menschen, die taten, was sie für richtig hielten. Gewissenbisse? Nein, die allermeisten schlafen recht gut mit ihrer Vergangenheit. (Dazu haben wir für euch eine Film List erstellt mit den schmerzhaftesten Dokus von den Krisenherden der Welt auf der Empfehlungsseite unserer Videothek cinegeek.de
Rated 07 Apr 2016
Rated 02 Jan 2014
90
79th
Exactly as bizarre, unnerving and downright terrifying as you've ready, it is the Banality of Evil writ large, and it is one hell of an experience.
Rated 02 Jan 2014
Rated 04 Apr 2014
35
4th
The Bad Acting of Killing. This documentary following Anwar Congo and Herman Koto (two mass killers of Communists in Indonesia) was a real letdown. Sure, I got some insight into the brutal scenes that these two cold blooded killers enacted... but to have them do a "Hollywood Style" reinactment was a bad idea, because their acting was so horrible it was hard to watch...
Rated 04 Apr 2014
Rated 21 Nov 2014
92
97th
Unbelievable access makes this one of the most horrifying and unforgettable documentaries I've ever seen. This is what true evil looks like... watching the main character grapple (probably for the first time) with the things he's done was absolutely riveting. And given the gravity of his crimes, there's no danger of the audience sympathizing with him. A must-see.
Rated 21 Nov 2014
Rated 16 Dec 2013
85
92nd
Such bizarre film about the power of not just remembering horrors of the past -- with an unpleasant speech of pride and honor --, but committing them all over again knowing that these stage acts will be on film, registered forever for other people to see. I find it hard to call Act of Killing a political film -- even a historical one --, because this works mostly, as Errol Morris said, like a mirror of our capacity to destroy. The devil is in the details -- not in choosing left or right.
Rated 16 Dec 2013
Rated 22 Apr 2014
98
99th
indescribable.
Rated 22 Apr 2014
Rated 17 Aug 2014
70
69th
Quite gripping and at times even funny, "The Act Of Killing" hammers home a brutal truth.
Rated 17 Aug 2014
Rated 19 Apr 2013
35
90th
"In Joshua Oppenheimer's extraordinary The Act of Killing, film becomes the medium for a bold historical reckoning--and in more ways than one." - Andrew Schenker
Rated 19 Apr 2013
Rated 10 Nov 2013
80
83rd
Absurdity of the scenes and the lack of moral makes this a very hard documentary to watch. Half of the time I'm just expecting them to pull the veil and tell me it's all just been a joke.
Rated 10 Nov 2013
Rated 07 Nov 2013
78
87th
Evil wins in this world every time... Btw: Kino's Journey Seal of Approval.
Rated 07 Nov 2013
Rated 09 Dec 2013
85
89th
It seems to wander at times, spinning circles around the same ideas. But while that may be narratively lacking, those ideas are not fiction, and as such it's some of the most surreal, confounding, inhuman shit I've ever seen. They recall slaughter with the same jollity as seeing Elvis films, and share killing methods as thoughtlessly as recipes. There are hints of budding self-awareness but they're washed away with the thinnest nonsensical justifications. Utterly incomprehensible.
Rated 09 Dec 2013
Rated 17 Dec 2013
90
85th
Surreal and grotesque. The sheer banality of Congo and co.'s descriptions and relative nonchalance are the most disturbing aspects. It's eye opening like a good documentary should be. It shows a shocking premise and it should inspire people to seek out even more about it.
Rated 17 Dec 2013
Rated 06 May 2017
40
10th
This probably smashed at Sundance or Cannes or whatever, but I couldn't wait for it to end. Just so, so very long and dry. Seriously, fuck this cold, lifeless social commentary.
Rated 06 May 2017
Rated 10 Apr 2014
60
64th
A truly remarkable documentary featuring some of the most utterly vile creatures imaginable.Depressing & amazing and,at times, utterly surreal.
Rated 10 Apr 2014
Rated 13 May 2017
80
85th
Surreal and shocking, The Act of Killing takes re-enactment in documentary filmmaking to a whole new level.
Rated 13 May 2017
Rated 03 Mar 2014
90
96th
Chilling and bizarre like nothing you've seen before.
Rated 03 Mar 2014
Rated 20 May 2014
80
96th
I must admit to being desensitised to the torture and murder detailed in the first half of this doc. After seeing films with ex Nazis & Soviet secret police candidly recounting their past barbarity, one sadistic war criminal seems no different to the last. But this bunch are exceptionally odd, and the second hour reveals the true extent of both their atrocities and weirdness, finishing with unexpected penitence for one. Horrifying, fascinating and puzzling in equal measure.
Rated 20 May 2014
Rated 08 Apr 2016
82
91st
Documentary as art as well as a social tool. Unforgettable for its visuals as well as its subject matter.
Rated 08 Apr 2016
Rated 13 Nov 2013
84
83rd
Oppenheimer builds a pretty clever documentary about a very hard subject.
Rated 13 Nov 2013
Rated 16 Jul 2014
90
92nd
A horrifying experience, not because it shows the atrocities of a particular act or the attitudes of a specific group of people, but because it feels so applicable to humanity as a whole. I think most people can very easily lose sight of morality under the right circumstances (i.e. when evil people are in a position of great influence). The nonchalance towards cruelty shown here is unsettling beyond words. Nonchalance isn't even the right word; they're outright reveling in their immorality.
Rated 16 Jul 2014
Rated 01 Aug 2013
90
99th
Surreal.
Rated 01 Aug 2013
Rated 15 Apr 2016
86
81st
A very disturbing piece of art.
Rated 15 Apr 2016
Rated 05 Jul 2013
8
92nd
Completely original and deeply thought provoking. Very long and very disturbing.
Rated 05 Jul 2013
Rated 25 Dec 2013
72
45th
so long that it feels like a raw film that will be edited... very disturbing and intense topic..
Rated 25 Dec 2013
Rated 15 Nov 2014
92
98th
Utterly terrifying surrealism that can only exist as part of a very real and deeply traumatised social consciousness. Yet in the heart of this film there is an almost irrationally defiant sense of optimism. Hope for reconciliation in face of absolutely defeating human horror.
Rated 15 Nov 2014
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